DC Direct is a division of

Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Outline of entertainment, entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It was formed from WarnerMedi ...

that sells collectibles based on

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

characters (

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

, etc.). Prior to 1998, merchandise sold by DC Comics was branded with the DC Comics logo rather than with the DC Direct or DC Collectibles logos. The company was called DC Direct from 1998 to 2012. From 2012 to 2020, DC Direct was known as DC Collectibles. On January 23, 2019, DC Comics told its employees that DC Collectibles would be moved to the Warner Bros. Consumer Products division as part of a company-wide re-organization. On Wednesday, February 19, 2020, the company changed its name back to DC Direct on its Facebook page. On Thursday, February 20, 2020, the company officially announced the name change. DC Direct produces statues, busts,

action figure An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game, television program, or sport; fictional or historical. These figures are usually ...

s, props replicas, and art prints for the

direct market The direct market is the dominant distribution and retail network for American comic books. The concept of the direct market was created in the 1970s by Phil Seuling. The network currently consists of: * three major comic distributors: ** Luna ...

, a distribution and retail network primarily serving comic book

specialty store A specialty store is a shop/store that carries a deep assortment of brands, styles, or models within a relatively narrow category of goods. :Furniture retailers, Furniture stores, florists, sporting goods stores, and bookstores are all specialty s ...

s. On August 10, 2020, ''The Hollywood Reporter'' reported that DC Direct was being shuttered as part of a company-wide re-structuring. On July 27, 2021, McFarlane Toys announced that it would take over management of any remaining DC Direct inventory and that it would continue to make statues, busts, and other collectibles (such as action figures) in DC Direct's previous merchandise lines. The company released new products starting in 2022.

Statues and Busts

DC Direct has produced numerous statues, busts, and plastic (PVC) figures based on their characters. Previously, merchandise tended to be stand-alone releases, but over time, DC Collectibles has favored branded lines. Current statue lines include Batman: Black & White, Bombshells, Cover Girls, Battle Statues, the Designer Series, and Harley Quinn: Red, White, & Black. DC Collectibles also makes statues based on characters appearing in DC Comics TV productions. DC Direct usually makes statues using cold-cast porcelain or polyresin, though the company has some history with PVC figures, such as the Ame-Comi line. PVC statue lines include DC Artists Alley and DC Core figures. Over the years, DC Direct has released several "mini" busts which were typically less than 6-inches tall. Between 2008 and 2011, the company released eight 1/2-scale busts. DC Collectibles released a life-size Joker bust designed by make-up artist Rick Baker in 2018.

DC Gallery Props

DC Direct releases props based on objects that characters use in comics. Some of these props are life-size, such as Batman's utility belt, Joker's cane, Two-Face's coin, and Wonder Woman's tiara, bracelets, & lasso. The DC Gallery line also includes high-end products that can be used practically, such as poker sets, chess sets, and bookends.

Action figures

Beginning in 1998 with three figures from '' Mad Magazine'', DC has released several hundred figures based on characters published by DC Comics, including those under the

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition in which a person has the sensation that they are moving, or that objects around them are moving, when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. It may be associated with nausea, vomiting, perspira ...

and

WildStorm Wildstorm Productions (stylized as WildStorm) is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi to publish through Image Comics, Wildstorm became a publishing imprint of DC C ...

imprints. Many of these action figures are in the 6- to 7-inch scale. For the first several years, the most recognizable DC characters were not released. DC Direct focused on lesser-known characters and comic series designed for mature readers such as The Sandman,

Preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...

, and

Transmetropolitan ''Transmetropolitan'' is a cyberpunk transhumanist comic book series written by Warren Ellis and drawn by Darick Robertson; it was published by the American company DC Comics in 1997–2002. The series was originally part of the short-lived DC C ...

. Later, DC Direct increased its production of recognizable characters such as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Supergirl, Batgirl, Starfire, Aquaman and Robin. Figures were first grouped randomly, then thematically and now in official "lines" that may be released over several years. The first three series in 1999 had variants for each figure, through the practice was quickly discontinued. DC Collectibles shares the licenses for many DC characters with other toy manufacturers, such as

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...

(which has the master toy license for all DC Comics properties), but Vertigo figures are released only by DC Collectibles. While most figures have been released on blister cards, some have been available in boxes and a very few in clamshell packaging. There have also been several boxed sets featuring multiple characters or a character with a particularly large accessory.

''Watchmen'' figures

There was a proposed series of figures based on

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', Swamp Thing (comic book), ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman: The Killing Joke' ...

's ''

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is a comic book Limited series (comics), limited series by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 19 ...

'' that never got past the prototype phase. Rumored to be scheduled for release in July, 2001, a few of the figures were displayed at summer conventions: the

Comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

, the Silk Spectre and Dr. Manhattan. There were two different prototypes of Dr. Manhattan - one solid blue, one with a translucent chest. It is unclear if other characters such as

Nite Owl Nite Owl is the name of two superheroes in the graphic novel Limited series (comics), limited series ''Watchmen'', published by DC Comics. Created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, the original Nite Owl, Hollis T. Mason, was a member of the crimefi ...

, Ozymandias and Rorschach were to also receive figures. The proposed figures were to be part of a 15th anniversary celebration of the miniseries, as was a ''Watchmen'' hardcover. Moore and co-creator

Dave Gibbons David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries ''Watchmen'' and the Superman story " For the M ...

decided not to participate in any promotional activities, in part because of a long-standing dispute over

merchandising Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of Product (business), products ("merch" colloquially) to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative w ...

for the series. In February 2018, DC Collectibles announced that they would finally release figures based on ''Watchmen'' characters in print, specifically the '' Doomsday Clock'' story arc.

References

External links

DC Collectibes websiteDC Direct Action Figures